Choices Chapter 1
by africayellowcat
Summary: What happens when we make the wrong choice?    Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, if I did I would not have killed Danny.
1. Chapter 1

**CHOICES…**** Ch.1**

Danny Walker sat on the front porch watching the hot Tennessee sun dip below the horizon. It was three months since he had come back home and he still could not help comparing these sunsets to the spectacular Pearl Harbour display. It was better not to think about sunsets though, they brought back memories. Memories of soft touches, heated kisses and the glide of skin against skin. Danny sighed and rose to walk back into the house…

0(0(0(0

_Four months before…._

Danny was now fully recovered from his wounds sustained during the Doolittle raid. Rafe, himself and Evelyn were still living in a tense bubble. Danny could tell that Rafe kept his distance due to the increasing swell in Evelyn's abdomen. But Danny often caught their glances at each other. He felt like Evelyn was making an effort to build a relationship with him for the sake of their child. Danny didn't want that, he loved Evelyn with every fibre of his being. If he could not have her whole heart he would rather not have a small part of it. Danny had witnessed first hand the damage a bad marriage could inflict, he had too many memories of his parents screaming at each other and his mother's face bruised.

Then the telegram arrived. His father had died he had finally succumbed to the cirrhosis of the liver. His years of drinking had caught up with him. Danny really didn't know how to feel about it. The abuse he had suffered at his father's hands made him think he should be relieved. But he had loved his father in-spite of it all. He had spent most of his childhood and early adolescence striving to please him. When he left home to become an army pilot his father had stood, his lips thin and his eyes haunted. His memories of war painted in graphic lines clearly on his face. But he had approached his son and placed a strong hand on Danny's shoulder. It was the most affection he had ever received from his father and Danny felt tears pool in his eyes. To Danny the gesture told him his father was finally proud of him.

Now he was dead. Danny knew what it meant. It meant he would be needed to come back home and run the farm. A huge part of him did not want to go. Pearl Harbour had been where he proved himself as a pilot. It was also where he found love. That love was strained now and Danny felt the right thing to do was walk away. Evelyn belonged with Rafe. In Danny's mind the hero always got the beautiful girl.

So an uncomfortable conversation took place between him and Evelyn. He told her he would always love her but he wanted her to be happy. He told her he had known and accepted that she still love Rafe. He told her he had no right to stake any claim on his best friend's girl. He told her he would be a father to their son but he could not stay. Evelyn had chewed her lip, her eyes never leaving Danny's face. Finally she sighed;

'Danny do you want to be free of me?'

Danny's eyes widened in horror, 'Of course I don't want to be free of you, I just want you to be happy and you'll be happy with Rafe.'

'You sound very sure of that,' she replied cryptically.

Danny could not cope any longer, he knew if he did not walk away now he would pull her into his arms and never want to let go. He kissed her briefly on the forehead then turned and walked back to the army jeep waiting to take him to the airport. As the jeep drove away he heard Evelyn calling his name but he closed his eyes and kept telling himself he had done the right thing.

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

**CHOICES…CH. 2**

Evelyn had just given birth to her new son Daniel John and lay exhausted. Rafe stood beside her his face anxious clutching her hand. He had not quibbled over her choice of name for her son. Even he acknowledged it was right that the little boy be named after his father and the second name for Evelyn's late father. He merely smiled and commented that their next son would be named after him. Evelyn merely nodded mutely her throat suddenly constricted. She could not help but remember their conversation they had before Rafe flew out for the Doolittle raid. When she had told him that all she ever wanted was for them to have a family and grow old together. Now that looked like happening and Evelyn knew she should be happy. But she wasn't and there was only one likely explanation, she missed Danny.

0(0(0(0

A week later Evelyn came home from the hospital to the small house Rafe had leased for them. It was a cosy bungalow with two bedrooms, a perfect first home for a perfect new family. Evelyn kept repeating this phrase over in her mind. She thought if she repeated it enough times it would become true.

She had received the letter from Danny the day before. He told her he was thrilled about the baby and would visit soon. Evelyn and Rafe's wedding was scheduled for a month's time. Danny had promised he would be Rafe's best man and would meet his new son then. Evelyn thought back to how she felt when she read the lines telling her that Danny was dating his high school sweetheart again. Her name was Jamie Lyn and as Evelyn gazed at the photo of the happy couple she felt her heart clench in pain. It would seem Danny had moved on. Did she expect him to pine for her forever? Evelyn knew she should be happy for him so why did she feel angry?

0(0(0(0

Danny finished stowing the last case in the trunk of the car. He wondered why women needed so many bags. He and Jamie Lyn were travelling to Hawaii for Evelyn and Rafe's wedding. Danny had already rehearsed his best man speech, telling everyone present how happy he was for his best friend and his new bride. He would smile and show he was thrilled. He would hold his infant son at his baptism. He would stand beside pretty blond Jamie Lyn as he watched Evelyn pledge her life to Rafe. And he would pretend that he was not dying inside.

0(0(0(0

Evelyn sat in front of her dressing table applying the finishing touches to her makeup. Her gown was simple, a soft ivory linen, flowing in gentle folds over her curves. She dropped her lipstick for the third time, her palms were clammy. She kept telling herself she had the normal nerves every bride felt on her wedding day. But her mind kept focussing on the face of the bubbly blond Jamie Lyn, the girl who was everything she was not. She could just picture Jamie Lyn in a cheerleaders outfit waving pompoms as she performed a complex routine. She kept telling herself that Danny had found the perfect girl for him. She kept telling herself the flash of pain she had seen in Danny's beautiful brown eyes had nothing to do with her wedding.

0(0(0(0

A few minutes later Evelyn walked slowly down the aisle of the small chapel attached to the naval base. The organ played the familiar strains of the bridal march and the guests assembled had turned to watch her passage down the aisle. She saw Rafe looking so handsome in his dark suit a wide smile on his handsome face. Evelyn knew this should be the happiest day of her life. But her eyes kept drifting to the man standing beside Rafe, to his soft dark hair falling over his brow, to his tall lean frame that she remembered pressed against hers. She could feel colour flooding her face, surely it was not appropriate to be fantasizing about another man on her wedding day. Even if it had been a night she would treasure for the rest of her life. Even if the memory of that night sustained her when Rafe's caresses left her cold. Part of Evelyn knew she was making the right decision, Rafe loved her and he loved her son. It was pointless wondering what would have happened if she had stopped Danny when he left to return to Tennessee. It was pointless wondering what would have happened if she had poured out what was in her heart, if he would have stayed.

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

**CHOICES Ch. 3**

Six months had passed since Rafe and Evelyn's wedding. The distance between them grew daily. Evelyn often felt they were going through the motions, asking each other about their day, having increasingly mechanical sex. Evelyn's comfort was her baby boy. Although she knew she was spoiling him Evelyn spent hours holding him, rocking him and singing to him. He was her only link to Danny and she cherished every second she spent with him.

When she held her infant son murmuring loving words to him and inhaling his clean baby scent she often felt Rafe's eyes on her. Often she would colour and look away hastily, feeling guilty for reasons she could not explain. She and Danny exchanged weekly phone calls for her to keep him up to date with little Daniel's progress. Every smile, every gurgle, every laugh, every movement was reported to his father. Evelyn often heard a yearning in Danny's voice clearly he wished he could be there. Evelyn felt the same yearning she wished he was there too.

Evelyn never felt strong enough to ask the question uppermost in her mind. Was he still seeing Jamie Lyn and was their relationship deepening? It made her crazy knowing there was another woman enjoying his gentle touch and warm kisses. Her mind quieted when Danny told her he was no longer seeing Jamie Lyn. Evelyn was about to ask why then she realized she didn't care, she was just glad it happened.

0(0(0(0

Danny oversaw the last of the grain harvesting. His back ached and he could feel his shoulders stinging with sunburn. His skin felt coated in chaff and his mouth burned with thirst. He did not think he would ever get used to life on the land. He missed being in a plane so bad he could not stand it. Every time he heard a crop duster he stood immobile drinking in the sight and sound until it faded from sight.

He had stopped seeing Jamie Lyn a month ago. She kept pressing him to say he loved her and make a commitment. He couldn't do it, he did care about Jamie Lyn but every time he tried to say the words she so badly wanted to hear they stuck in his throat. There was only one woman he felt that level of emotion for. It was the same woman who was now lost to him.

0(0(0(0

Evelyn slammed the oven door after seeing the meal she had carefully prepared was ruined. Rafe had taken to staying out late drinking. Evelyn knew the atmosphere between them was becoming increasingly unbearable. Yet neither of them talked about it, it was the proverbial elephant in the room. It was the realization that they had married the wrong person. Evelyn tried not to listen to the rumours that Rafe was seeing other women. She knew she should be furious but really she was just tired. Tired of pretending that she was living in domestic bliss. She was tired of pretending that the man she truly loved was the one she was married to. When in fact that man was living in another part of the country.

She heard the screen door creak and knew Rafe was home. She tried to school her features, tried to look like she was pleased to see her husband. She could tell from his stumbling step that he was drunk. Sure enough he appeared in the doorway, his face flushed, his eyes glazed and swaying like a tree in a high wind. He glared at Evelyn belligerently;

'So why are you looking at me like that, Mrs. McAuley?'

Evelyn could not help flinching at the use of her married name.

'I don't know what you mean Rafe.'

Rafe smirked in a threatening manner as he stalked towards his wife, the stumbling step all but gone in his anger.

'Don't you look at me like I'm dirt!' he roared suddenly.

Evelyn flinched trying to back away finding her back pressed against the counter. She could hear little Danny start crying as he was woken by Rafe's yelling. He gestured towards the nursery;

'Now the brat is squawking, a man can't get a minutes peace.'

Evelyn felt her rage rising; 'That is our son Rafe and he is not a brat!'

Rafe smirked again as he walked away from her,

'That kid is not mine and you know it,' he approached her suddenly his fists balled, 'You goddamn whore!' his fist shot out and connected with Evelyn's cheekbone, she heard a muffled crack before the world spun and turned black.

To be continued…..


	4. Chapter 4

**CHOICES …Ch 4**

Evelyn slowly opened her eyes needing to focus as a face swam into view. Her nursing friend Sandra peered anxiously at her through her thick spectacles. Evelyn could see an ice pack in her hand, moving her head slightly she felt a jolt of pain in her cheek. Sandra stilled her with a hand on her shoulder;

'It isn't broken just badly bruised, you need to rest because you probably have a concussion as well.'

It all came back to her now the fight with Rafe and the last thing seeing his fist coming towards her face. What had they fought about? Evelyn couldn't remember they seemed to fight so frequently lately and over the most trivial things. She glanced around the room and saw Red and Martha there as well. How had this happened, where was Rafe? Evelyn could feel herself colouring in embarrassment, having this many people know the sordid details of her marriage. Sandra clearly read her thoughts;

'Ev, don't it's okay.'

Evelyn looked away for a moment then nodded.

'Red found Rafe wondering near the parachute hanger, he was pretty plastered, he kept mumbling he was sorry. We figured something had happened between you two so we came here and found you unconscious.' Now it was her turn to look uncomfortable.

Evelyn glanced around the room worried, 'Where's Danny?'

Her friends glanced at each other; 'Daniel is with Mrs. Parker next door he's fine,' Sandra looked down at her feet for a moment uncomfortable then met her friend's eyes again, 'Ev, we rang Danny, he's on his way.'

'You did what? I don't want Danny to see me like this,' she said struggling to sit up, Sandra grasped her arm and helped her into a sitting position. Evelyn took the ice pack from Sandra's hand and pressed it to her cheekbone that had swollen to the point of almost closing her eye. She flinched in pain, where was Rafe? Evelyn looked up and saw her friend's looking uncomfortably at each other;

'There's more isn't there?'

Finally Red sighed; 'After we found you like this, I went looking for Rafe again,' his face paled, 'Ev, I found him in the parachute hangar.'

Evelyn's memories of the parachute hanger made her suddenly uncomfortable Rafe knew it was where Evelyn and Danny had consummated their love. He had seen the way they looked at each other when both men had been folding parachutes and Evelyn arrived unexpectedly. Both coloured slightly and glanced to a spot in the centre of that hangar where parachutes hung create curtains of silk. Rafe asked Evelyn about it after they were married and she finally told him. She always felt like she should have made something up because sharing the details somehow felt like betraying a sacred memory. Evelyn finally noticed the uncomfortable silence in the room and everyone was staring at her;

'And?' she pressed wondering how Rafe explained Evelyn's bruised face.

Red glanced at the girls before continuing, 'Ev, he had hanged himself.'

Evelyn felt a sick horror course through her, she heard them calling her name as the room spun again then the world turned black.

0(0(0(0

Danny arrived the following day Red met him at the airport. Danny's face was pale and his lips compressed into a tight line. He did not waste time on pleasantries;

'How is she?'

Red placed a bracing hand on his friend's shoulder.

'She's fine Danny, but you need to prepare yourself for when you see her face, she's pretty badly bruised.'

Danny flushed in anger, how could Rafe have done something this? The question uppermost in Danny's mind was had it happened before and if so why had Evelyn not said anything particularly to him. He then remembered that Evelyn was no longer just the woman he loved but was another man's wife. Danny knew enough about abusive marriages to know women in these situations did not usually talk about it. This thought prompted him to remember what had happened to Rafe. So many memories had gone through his mind on the flight from Tennessee. Two little boys playing fighter pilots in the derelict shell of an old plane. Two friends later training as army pilots often getting into trouble for pulling some stunt that was usually Rafe's idea. The feeling of shock when Danny received the telegram telling him that Rafe was dead. Then his return, the fight in the bar followed by the horror that was the bombing of Pearl Harbour. He remembered Rafe holding him when he was shot during the Doolittle raid telling him to hang on, that he was going to be a father. What had happened to his best friend? Was it the emotional pressure of being married to a woman who had given birth to another man's child? Not just another man but his best friend. Danny couldn't help remembering the day in the parachute hangar when Evelyn had arrived unexpectedly. For a moment time had stood still and his mind had gone back to that extraordinary night they spent together. He could tell when he looked at Evelyn she was thinking about the same thing. They looked away from each other uncomfortably. That was when Danny noticed Rafe watching them, particularly watching him. Did he still feel like Danny had betrayed him? Was the feeling that he had lost his best friend and a large part of the woman he loved what drove him to end his own life? It seemed they would never know.

0(0(0(0

Two days later Rafe McAuley was buried. A small private service was held each mourner had stood beside his grave occupied with their own thoughts and memories. Danny had stood beside Evelyn holding her hand. The bruising on her face was fading changing to that strange greenish yellow that showed it was healing. She was able to cover the area with makeup now. Although there had been lengthy yearning gazes between them neither had made a move apart from their initial hug. Both were clearly too uncomfortable with what had happened over the last few days to simply roll back the clock. Possibly both also felt it was disrespecting Rafe's memory to fall back into each other's arms so soon after his death. Yet both of them knew the feelings were still there and they both knew they would have the rest of their lives to be together. Danny had decided the moment they were re-united that nothing was going to come between them again.

0(0(0(0

Six months later Danny and Evelyn became man and wife. The ceremony took place in the gardens behind what had been the nurse's quarters during the war. The heady fragrances of frangipani, freesia and gardenia created an intoxicating perfume. Most guests were moved to tears by the emotion shown by the couple pledging their vows. Little Daniel had just started walking and stood between his parents, one hand grasping his father's trousers, one holding the hem of his mother's skirt as his parents held hands and became one. When the minister pronounced them man and wife the newlyweds gazed at each other for several moments before coming together in a deep, lingering kiss. They finally broke apart when they felt their son tugging on their clothing. Mr. & Mrs. Walker laughed as Danny picked up his son and lightly tossed him in the air.

Much later that night after all the guests had left and little Daniel was safely tucked in bed a lone couple danced in the moonlight. No music played they danced to the internal serenade that bound their hearts and souls in a love that would sustain them through good times and bad. A love they knew would carry on after their lives were over. Finally they glanced at each other and hand in hand walked toward their new home ready to begin an extraordinary journey.

**THE END.**


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